If you are currently pregnant, then you have a 50% chance of experiencing morning sickness. The increase in hormones like progesterone and estrogen are responsible for the nausea and vomiting. Unfortunately, the vomiting can cause dental erosion. You can prevent this from happening by seeking out assistance from your dentist and by doing a few simple things at home.
Stay Away From Spicy Foods
When you first become pregnant, hormones drastically increase to help prepare your body for your growing fetus. These hormones produce a great deal of changes. One of these changes occurs to the muscles that line the upper part of the stomach. These muscles keep food in the stomach and pregnancy hormones soften the tissues. This causes stomach gasses to come close to the esophagus where they cause a burning sensation. This sensation along with the presence of acidic fluids can cause nausea and vomiting.
You can reduce the urge to vomit due to gastric reflux by staying away from foods that can increase the burning sensation at the end of the esophagus. Spicy foods can cause discomfort so stay away from items that contain cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, black pepper, curry, and cardamom. Also, avoid peppers with a heat index above zero.
Other Food Considerations
It is wise to stay away from spicy foods to stave off nausea, but you also should avoid items that are known to cause gastric reflux. Caffeine can worsen nausea and gastric reflux symptoms, because the mild stimulant further relaxes the stomach muscles. This means you should avoid coffee, tea, chocolate, soda, and energy drinks. Fried foods, fatty meats, cheese, and whole milk can cause nausea symptoms as well.
Some foods can reduce gastric reflux symptoms, so think about eating bread, melons, bananas, rice, potatoes, and fibrous vegetables when you feel nauseous. Also, drink water during meal time, but take small sips of the fluid to control stomach volume. This will help to keep partially digested food away from the end of the esophagus.
Do Not Brush After Vomiting
If your morning sickness does cause you to vomit, then you may want to get rid of the food particles and gastric acids that have entered your mouth. This is wise, because gastric acids are highly acidic with a pH between one and three. The fluids can easily wear away at your dental enamel and erode the teeth. The chances of erosion increase as the acids are left to sit on the dental enamel. Unfortunately, acidic substances like hydrochloric acid or stomach acid cause the dental enamel to become soft for a short period of time. Brushing can then easily scrape the enamel.
Cleaning Your Mouth
Instead of brushing your teeth after vomiting, rinse your mouth out with water immediately. Gargle for one or two minutes to release as much acid as possible and then spit the water out. Wait about one hour, so the dental enamel can harden and then brush your teeth. Use a mildly abrasive toothpaste though. Products with baking soda are best. Rinse your mouth with a fluoride mouthwash afterwards. The fluoride will help to remineralize the teeth to replace lost calcium.
After you have thoroughly cleaned your mouth, consider chewing on sugar free gum for the next 15 or 20 minutes. The gum will cause the salivary glands to produce fluids and this will help to reduce the general acidity of your mouth. Chewing gum can reduce acid reflux as well, because the saliva will force gastric acids away from the esophagus as you swallow.
If you are pregnant and experiencing morning sickness, then you should know that vomiting can cause dental erosion. You can reduce oral health concerns by controlling gastric reflux and by cleaning the mouth properly after you vomit.
Share10 February 2015
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